Best Practices for Developing and Validating Scales for Health, Social, and Behavioral Research: A Primer
Top Cited Papers
Open Access
- 11 June 2018
- journal article
- review article
- Published by Frontiers Media SA in Frontiers in Public Health
- Vol. 6, 149
- https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2018.00149
Abstract
Scale development and validation are critical to much of the work in the health, social, and behavioral sciences. However, the constellation of techniques required for scale development and evaluation can be onerous, jargon-filled, unfamiliar, and resource-intensive. Further, it is often not a part of graduate training. Therefore, our goal was to concisely review the process of scale development in as straightforward a manner as possible, both to facilitate the development of new, valid, and reliable scales, and to help improve existing ones. To do this, we have created a primer for best practices for scale development in measuring complex phenomena. This is not a systematic review, but rather the amalgamation of technical literature and lessons learned from our experiences spent creating or adapting a number of scales over the past several decades. We identified three phases that span nine steps. In the first phase, items are generated and the validity of their content is assessed. In the second phase, the scale is constructed. Steps in scale construction include pre-testing the questions, administering the survey, reducing the number of items, and understanding how many factors the scale captures. In the third phase, scale evaluation, the number of dimensions is tested, reliability is tested, and validity is assessed. We have also added examples of best practices to each step. In sum, this primer will equip both scientists and practitioners to understand the ontology and methodology of scale development and validation, thereby facilitating the advancement of our understanding of a range of health, social, and behavioral outcomes.Keywords
Funding Information
- National Institute of Mental Health (R21 MH108444)
This publication has 106 references indexed in Scilit:
- Bifactor Models and Rotations: Exploring the Extent to Which Multidimensional Data Yield Univocal Scale ScoresJournal of Personality Assessment, 2010
- Development and Validation of the Sexual Agreement Investment ScaleThe Journal of Sex Research, 2010
- An assessment of functioning and non-functioning distractors in multiple-choice questions: a descriptive analysisBMC Medical Education, 2009
- Having a fit: impact of number of items and distribution of data on traditional criteria for assessing IRT’s unidimensionality assumptionQuality of Life Research, 2009
- Research electronic data capture (REDCap)—A metadata-driven methodology and workflow process for providing translational research informatics supportJournal of Biomedical Informatics, 2008
- Internal validity of a household food security scale is consistent among diverse populations participating in a food supplement program in ColombiaBMC Public Health, 2008
- The Role of Self-Efficacy in HIV Treatment Adherence: Validation of the HIV Treatment Adherence Self-Efficacy Scale (HIV-ASES)Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 2007
- Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis: Conventional criteria versus new alternativesStructural Equation Modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 1999
- Determining the number of components from the matrix of partial correlationsPsychometrika, 1976
- Coefficient alpha and the internal structure of testsPsychometrika, 1951